Silver Storm
by Starfighter626
Summary: Where will fate lead Usagi after the future-foretold has come to pass? Set in the Crystal Age, 2,000 years in the future, the flame of unrequited love still burns in the heart of our heroine, Chaos returns with a weapon she can't fight & won't destroy.
1. Chapter 1: Requisition

_Disclaimer: I do not own Sailormoon, or any of the characters. This is a Sailormoon / Seiya pairing fanfic, a story of undying, unrequited love. I love the story of Serenity and Endymion, and will do my best to give it a beautiful departure. Thanks for reading, I will post new chapters very soon._

_Chapter One_

**Requisition**

Blue moonlight bathed the cold marble floor of the Great Hall, and the heavy perfume of lunar roses clung to the air.

The Earth was silent.

Perhaps it would be from now on.

She did not know, and perhaps she did not care.

Trembling as she stood, she managed to rise from her station. How long had she sat there - motionless, alone, staring past the present and into the nothingness of time? She did not know.

Her hands ached. Her back ached. Her legs felt too weak to support her fragile body. She felt old. For the first time in two thousand years, she felt the weight of time.

She had felt this weight once before, when she first assumed her responsibilities. Felt the luster of youth drain from her bones, only to be replaced by the obligation of duty.

But this was different. Back then she knew the future. She knew of its immediate mysteries. She knew of its foreseeable battles, and she knew of her obligation to fulfill her duties, and bring honor to a fallen millennium

But long ago she had decided not to live by the rule of futures. For her dedication to destiny had cost her more than she could have ever imagined - and in that she had lost, quite possibly, the only person she had ever truly loved.

Now it had happened again.

Another lost love, another sad departure that had not been foreseen.

She gathered herself. Her once golden hair had turned to a brilliant silvery blue-white in the past thousand years, and it fell from the arms of her throne and into soft puddles around her feet. As she began to take a stride forward, the folds of her silken dress began to rustle, breaking the silence that had lasted for too long. The sound startled her, and she held her breath against the notion to return to her seat.

"No. It is time. I shall let go of you properly my king," she whispered to herself as she grasped the handles of the heavy carved-stone doors.

She braced herself as she opened them to reveal the grand hallway.

"It is time," she declared in a sturdy whisper, "We lay Endymion to rest today."


	2. Chapter 2: Passage

_Author's Note: In my vision of 30__th__ Century Tokyo, the rebirth after the battle with Chaos and Galaxia brought about the rebirth of all the Sailor Soldiers, past and present. Endymion's Generals were reborn and, as it should have been in the Silver Millennium, were rejoined with their loved ones._

_I have borrowed from both the manga, and the anime for my tale - weaving them together._

_Read, review & enjoy!_

_Chapter Two_

**Passage**

It felt as though the Universe was holding its breath. Afraid to exhale, afraid that one careless movement could shatter the reality they once knew.

It was like life and time, memories and dreams - had stopped.

The weight of a thousand lifetimes, the hopes and fears of every soul in the solar system was resting on what she would do now, and she could not afford to let them see her falter.

"Your majesty," a familiar, but stern voice beckoned to her from the long corridor, "they are waiting for you to speak. We _all_ are."

———

The days that followed the passing of the King of the Earth were filled with somber pageantry. Ceremony bled into ceremony - flowers, tears, condolences and prayers filled the streets and flooded the atmosphere. People were grief stricken, as was expected, but more than that — they were _afraid_.

Not unlike the days that had followed the passing of Guardian Jupiter, some 300 years prior.

Those days now seemed less tragic somehow, though still coated with the thick film of despair and unease.

Jupiter had passed during childbirth. A fate that she had deemed as noble, and had refused to let her own life be saved in order to protect that of her unborn son. With her death she bestowed to him - Dorian, her only son and heir - the guardianship of their mother-planet, as well as her gifts as a soldier.

Though she had pleaded with them - tried to make them understand, her death had inevitably caused a rift between the Queen and her Guard.

"_You_ could have saved her!" Mars had all but sworn at Serenity.

"But she was already saved..." Serenity had retaliated with dignity.

"Don't give me your twisted words and cryptic half-truths, you know you could have stopped this! You could have saved her _life_! But you just stood there, _your Majesty_, and let…her… _die_. One of your best friends!" Mars could barely shape the words correctly through her rage.

"Raye, you, _we,_ have to learn to let people go. We have to let things _change._ We have to let _people_ change. It's not right to try to freeze time - it's not the way of things." Serenity chose her words carefully, purposefully.

"Yeah, that's easy coming from someone who hasn't changed in 1,600 years!" Mars hissed.

"Raye, I loved Makoto, as I love all of you. But this was her choice - this is what _she_ wanted. She felt that she was doing the right thing, content that her time was served. I could do no more to change her heart than I can change yours now."

"But you have _forever_, Usagi. Forever to raise _your_ daughter, to love _your_ husband, to savor _your_ dreams...." Raye trailed off leaving her sentence unfinished, tears flowing silently down her face.

"Yes, I may have _forever_, Raye - but sometimes living forever…is just another way to _die_."

Serenity's words carried more meaning than she had intended. In that brief second, she had let her cracks show, if only momentarily. She turned and walked away from her friends, fearing that they would unravel her in her moment of weakness.

That was the last time she had spoken to Guardian Mars casually — and Mars now refused to speak to the Queen on any basis that wasn't strictly judicial, her grudge still unrelenting.

But that was 300 years ago, when the future had yet remained unchanged. And though Jupiter's passing had not been foreseen, it had not seemed to alter the trajectory of the events that lay ahead. Nephrite had raised their son into a fine soldier and Dorian now held his mother's rightful place in the Queen's Royal Guard.

Yesterday, it had seemed that, with time, they had all but forgotten the wounds that her death had inflicted.

Today, however, her parting seemed so fresh — reminding those left behind that some wounds never heal, and that the voids left by some are never truly filled.

But Serenity already knew that. She had known that for ages.

She could only imagine what the fabric of her heart must look like, so tattered and full of holes - like a heroes banner flown in war. Defiant, but destroyed.

So much lost, so many times.

She wasn't sure if there was enough of her left to do this properly. She wasn't sure if there was enough left to do it at all. This was a day that she had not prepared for, a day that she had mistakenly overlooked for 2,000 years.

The end of destiny.

Endymion was the true heir of the Earth and its one true Prince, but that had not offered him the gift of eternity that being the heir of the Silver Millennium had offered his Queen. Nor had it extended to him the unusually long life span of those in her court. While time had never touched the young face of his bride, he had grown older. Not as rapidly as he once would have, but slowly and gracefully — majestically even. It had taken him the full span of 2,000 years to achieve the physical equivalent of 50 normal human years, but he had achieved them. And now it seemed that the Earth was finally ready to reclaim what was undeniably hers.

He had felt that his time was growing shorter; the days that had once seemed to stretch themselves out endlessly were now searching for their end. He had tried to warn them, to ease them into the inevitable, but all the preparation in the world could not have prepared them for the finality of his passing, or for the unrest of the unknown in the days ahead.

He had spent most of his last days with Chibi Usa, or Princess Serenity as she was now known, assumedly preparing her for the grief and responsibilities that would now be hers.

With his passing, Princess Serenity would become the true heir of the Earth, daughter of the King and wife of Helios - Guardian of Elysion. The cycle of duty would continue, and the mantel of the guardian would pass, as it always had.

Whether or not his words had given his daughter solace in the days to come - it now seemed that she was the only one who truly understood his passing, and found comfort in it. She welcomed this new age, and promised the people of Earth that there was nothing to fear in the days to come.

But her words did nothing to soothe the fears of those who had known what the future had held up until this point. This was an ending to the certain. This was the last chapter in the fairy tale. Everything beyond this point was unknown, and uncertain. Where would this new path lead those still left to travel it?

———

"I just need a few more minutes alone with him." She answered the voice in the corridor without turning to address it.

"Forgive me, your highness, but it has been two we —,"

"I know how long it has been Mars!" She glared over her shoulder at the raven-haired soldier silhouetted in the doorway, "Do you think that just because my body does not feel the ebb of time that my heart does not!!" She all but screamed, her voice echoing back off the cool marble walls.

"No, but _they_ need comfort. Your people need to see that _you_ still stand strong, undiminished." The raven-haired girls voice was quiet, concerned.

"But I am diminished…" she broke off, returning her eyes to the elaborate crystal coffin stretched out in front of her, "I just need a few more minutes."

"Take all the time you need, Serenity. They will wait for you, we will _all_ wait." And with that, Guardian Mars bowed lightly and spun on her heel, closing the huge marble doors of the mausoleum behind her.


	3. Chapter 3: Across Stars

_Author's Note: Thanks to everyone for their comments, I really appreciate them. Expect minor revisions and new chapters this week!_

_Okay, enough babbling….Read, Review and Enjoy! _

_Chapter Three_

**Across Stars**

He wasn't sure what woke him. Not that he slept much, or well, these days, but this night was different.

Tonight, something was off. Something was wrong. Something, somewhere, was very, very wrong.

Maybe he was ill.

There was a horrible nauseous feeling urging him from the bed, an incredible dizziness ringing full alarm in his ears, and an icy sweat entangling him in the sheets. His head was a mess of confusion as he struggled to orient himself against the shadows of the dark room.

Finally freeing himself from the swaddling restraints, he found his feet — only to discover that the fire in his chest could no longer be ignored. He stood cautiously as he massaged the muscles of his bare chest with his hand, gritting his teeth against the mysterious pangs.

Rubbing the strain from his eyes and squinting into the dark, he walked slowly to the window and stared out into the blanket of space. A million tiny points of light twinkled back at him from the pool of endless darkness, but he only saw one of them.

His aching heart sank in his chest and he was suddenly breathless. It felt as if he had just had the air knocked from him. His head spun with such force that he barely made it into the armchair that sat beside the window before he clasped. He leaned forward, pulling his head down between his knees - afraid he was going to faint, _or worse_.

Across the room, another body stirred in the night.

He inclined his gaze slightly up toward the bed as a pair of concerned eyes reflected back in the pale blue light of the Kinmoku moons.

"Fighter, is everything all right?" came a soft and groggy whisper.

"Yes Princess, just not feeling well, that's all. Please go back to sleep, I didn't mean to wake you. I'm just going to get some water, everything's fine." He said as he got up and walked over to the bedside. He leaned down and gently kissed the forehead of the beautiful woman still wrapped up in his sheets.

"I love you, dearest Fighter. I wish you rest." She whispered to him as she took a deep breath and trailed back into the warmth of her dreams.

He could feel a lump forming in his throat and a hollowness echoing in his chest. He erected himself as he stared sympathetically at her through the moonlight, tracing her silhouette with his eyes. She truly was breathtaking, her long silky hair flowing like a crimson river around her pale moon lit face. Her dazzling emerald eyes — which he had noticed always carried a silent concern for him and his heart — now resting completely unaware of the turmoil and guilt they had just inflicted.

"Dream sweet dreams Princess," he whispered back into the darkness as he made his way to the door, pulling it closed silently behind him.

He knew that Kakyu loved him — that whether it was wrong or not, she cherished him above all the others — though he had never understood why, and he was absolutely certain that he did not deserve the accolades and praise that she so generously bestowed upon him. It was true that he felt an undeniable obligation to her, and that she was more than entitled to his undying respect and, though he could not reciprocate, _his love_.

But he did not love Kakyu. He could not love Kakyu — at least not the way she wanted — and though she knew the truth of this, it did not stop her from trying to persuade his heart.

But his heart was far out of her reach. For all he knew, it was out of his as well — somewhere on the furthermost side of the universe, on a small blue and green planet orbited by a beautiful white moon, in the unknowing care of the most extraordinary creature in existence.

Yes, he was certain. His heart was far, far from the reach of anyone...anymore.

—

"Ah, can't sleep again?" Yaten asked as he walked in and sat an armload of equipment down on the table in the main living quarters. It was still hours before daybreak, but he had grown accustomed to coming in from his night watch to find his friend awake, starved for sleep.

"No." Seiya said curtly, without looking up from his armchair. He kept his eyes on the floor as he got up and walked to the hook where his red blazer was hanging.

"Geez, Sei. I know you're exhausted, but you have got to snap out of it! And for the love of all that's good and holy, you've got to get a new jacket. I mean, seriously," he gave a disapproving shrug, "that thing is almost 15 years old! And if you're going to start wearing it around with your pajamas, then you can't wear it out in public anymore. Seriously, I'm not kidding." He went back to rummaging through the load of gear.

"Thanks for the fashion advice Yaten, but being stylish isn't really high on my list of priorities anymore. Listen, I'm not trying to be rude — I know you mean well, and I appreciate it — but I just want to be alone for a while. Okay?" He avoided making eye contact.

"Seiya..." Yaten started softly, trying to approach his friend with a considerately careful tone. "You've been alone for as long as you've had that jacket. I don't want to pry, and I know you don't want to hear this again for the ten millionth time..." he paused to consider the impact of his next words, "but maybe it's time to _let go_."

Seiya inhaled sharply as he squeezed his eyes shut tight and bit his bottom lip.

Yaten tried to evaluate whether or not to continue with his rebuke. He went back to his equipment, trying to feign distraction, hoping that his friend would perceive the conversation as light-hearted and half thought-through.

"Listen, I love you Sei." He started again, still fiddling with the box of tools and belts that he had brought in. "You're one of my closest friends and you're more like a brother, or sister, to me than a mere friend. I _worry_ about you. I can't help it. We _all_ do. Just give it some thought, that's all I ask. That's all anyone ask. You can't live in the pain of the past forever, my friend. Not when the bright and beautiful future is begging you to be a part of it." Yaten walked over and put a reassuring hand on Seiya's shoulder and waited for him to look at him.

Seiya didn't budge.

"I appreciate the concern, Yaten. I know that you've given me more than enough time to get through this — to sort things out — and you've all been so patient and understanding, but _not tonight_. Okay?" Seiya kept his eyes closed as he pulled away from his friend. "I need air, this place is suffocating. If you have need of me, I have my communicator." He patted his pocket. "I'm sorry Yaten. I know you mean well..." he turned and walked toward the freedom of the open terrace door, "but tonight, I just need to be alone."

Yaten watched with a heavy heart as his friend pulled the remnants of his tattered burgundy blazer over his bare shoulders and disappeared into the moonlight.

"Someday my friend, maybe you won't need to be alone anymore," he whispered to himself as he went back to inspecting the load of equipment he had just acquired, realizing that he was actually seeing it for the first time.

—

Out in the crisp night air, the anchor of grief that had threatened to crush him inside felt a little lighter and a bit more manageable. He walked to the edge of the palace garden and stared out into the dark waves of the Kinmoku Sea. The night was so quiet, and rich. The only sound he could hear was the quiet rhythm of the waves as they fell upon the shore. The salt of the sea spray clung to the air and filled his lungs. The twinkling heavens seemed to stretch themselves out across eternity, and he could feel the cool light of the moons dancing on his face.

He hopped over the small marble wall of the garden and made his way down the steep sandy bank to the rocky shore below. He stopped just short of the sand line and climbed up on to one of the ancient boulders that had nestled itself into the sea wall.

"Odango..." he whispered as he relaxed onto the rock, and stared up into the heavens. His gaze resting on a very particular star, it's shine almost too faint to see.

He reached into the pocket that he had gestured to as holding his communicator. There was no communicator. He couldn't even remember the last time he had used a communicator. He chuckled a little to himself at the thought of this common deception. He wasn't sure whether anyone bought it anymore, but at least Taiki and Yaten humored him by not pressing the subject. They knew full well what he carried in that pocket, and it wasn't a communicator.

Instead, he gently fished out what he considered to be his most precious memento. A trinket he had stolen from Earth, a keepsake to remind him of her — as if he thought he could ever forget. He had wondered if she would miss this tiny souvenir. He was sorry if it had made her upset when she noticed it missing, but silently hoped that she would know the culprit, and miss him as well. He turned it over in his hands, admiring it as it glinted in the moonbeams.

A golden star locket with a delicate crescent moon design carved inside.

He smiled at the worn locket as he held it lovingly in both hands, resting them in his lap. He closed his eyes as he began to rub the smooth patina with his thumbs. His mind drifted.

He could see her face clearly. He could hear the peal of her sparkling laughter. Its beauty still rang like a bell in his head, and its innocence could still find the way to his heart, even after all these years. Though he was more than aware that it had been tainted with the bitter edge of sorrow when he had heard it, it was still the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. Nothing in heaven or on earth could match its splendor. He wondered if she laughed freely now. If somewhere, on her tiny planet so far away, she still glowed with her silent nobility, and loved with her unyielding ferocity.

The shattered remains of his heart pounded unwillingly inside his chest, screaming with the effort to keep him alive. To allow himself this moment of wonder cut deeper than he was prepared for, but he could not deny it. He missed her, more so today than yesterday, and even more still than all the days before that.

After their return to Kinmoku, following the battle with Chaos, he had thought that the heartache would consume him — that the mere separation from her would cease his heart from beating — and maybe it would, in the end. At first, the pain had felt like drowning. It was like he was constantly being submerged into a bottomless pool — desperately gasping for air, for relief, only to fill his heart and lungs with suffocating grief and debilitating loss. Every minute felt a thousand years long, every day an eternity. Every breath he drew was filled with agony, every tear carved an acid scar upon his soul. It was in this second-to-second struggle to survive, that he had finally lost the will to. He couldn't fight it anymore, his pain, his love — they had crippled him.

For years now he had been unable to resume his role as a guardian of Kinmoku, finding no will in his heart to protect anything, or anyone, anymore — not his home, not his friends, and least of all, himself — so that Starfighter, the once strongest soldier of Kinmoku and leader of the Sailor Starlights, had almost become a stranger to him. The once powerful soldier, now lying dormant somewhere beneath the rubble of his heart.

At times he had begged for an end, for a reprieve. On more than one occasion, when the pain had been too much, he had attempted to take his own life — only to be thwarted by his friends who obviously couldn't conceive the magnitude of his pain, or the reasons for it. They had taken the greatest care of him, and with him. They had done their best to nurse his broken spirit, and to mend the incredible hole in his soul. They had been protective of him, and exceedingly patient. Through his darkest times they had remained vigilant, and, in the end, they had decided to let him grieve in his own way. Alone.

It was an age of great peace throughout the universe, thanks to Sailor Moon, and only a few had noticed the absence of Starfighter among the Royal Guard. Questions to his whereabouts had all but ceased as soon as the announcement was made that Princess Kakyu had chosen him to be her mate, and that soon he would no longer be a soldier of the guard, but the husband of the soon-to-be Queen.

But he didn't want to think about that now.

It was hard enough to put on the facade of normality everyday for the sake of the others, without the burden of being unable to return the affections of the one for whom he could not find it in his heart to love.

No, he could not think about that. _Not tonight_.

He sighed and looked down at the shining locket in his hands. A small cry from the cliffs above startled him and, before he could react, the tiny trinket slipped from his fingers and fell with a clatter to the rocks below.

"Fighter! Fighter!" He could barely hear the trill of Kakyu's calls above the crash of the waves.

He stared down at the locket as it lay on the rocks. It hadn't broken as he had feared, but there was something different about it. In this light, it was like he was truly seeing it for the first time.

"Fighter!" Kakyu's voice was trailing away from the cliff face and back toward the palace.

He started to respond — to let her know where he had vanished to — but just as he sucked in the air to shout to her, the faint chimes of a tiny melody began to sing upon the wind. The still-sad notes of a haunting lament. A long-forgotten lullaby, dancing delicately on the breeze, calling to him from somewhere far, far away, and long, long ago.

It took him a second to recover his senses as he jumped from the rock to retrieve the locket. The locket that was now calling to him — whispering to him on the painful notes of its timeless memory.

He stared at it bewildered for a second before he picked it up. He had held this locket for 15 years, had carried it with him every where he went, had opened and closed it a million times, and it had never once played this enchanting music. As a matter-of-fact, he had no memory of it ever playing music, not even on Earth. The melody pulled at him like gravity, like it was screaming at him to remember. To remember something that was never truly forgotten, and he bent gently to scoop it up in his hand.


	4. Chapter 4: Truths

_Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed the story thus far, knowing that you enjoy my story as much as I do pushes me to keep writing. I promise it will only get better from here!_

_On to Chapter Four! Read, review, and most of all - enjoy!_

_- Starfighter626_

_Chapter Four_

**Truths**

The room was silent. The heavy marble doors drowning out the anxious roar of the crowd that was gathering outside. The people of Earth were growing increasingly nervous.

Two long, grief and fear filled, weeks had passed since the death of the King, and, in appeasement to the masses, a few simple ceremonies had been conducted by members of the Royal Court and Guard, without the presence — or permission — of the Queen. Throughout the city, individual memorials began to overtake the landscape and the gates to the palace were now heavily draped with the flowers and offerings of the grieving multitude.

But the palace remained a silent tomb. Their Queen, no more than a ghost behind its walls.

Perhaps her silence _had_ lasted too long. She could not seem to find it in herself to care. She would not let them rush her through this. She would no longer sacrifice her peace of mind, simply to put other minds at ease. No. She would do this in her own way — and on her own time — so that in the centuries to come, she could look back on this moment without a single regret in her heart.

She took a long, deep and cleansing, breath as she tried to summon the strength to say goodbye.

"I will miss you beyond measure," she whispered to him through the crystal casing of his coffin. He looked so peaceful, like he was trapped inside the most pleasant dream.

She could feel the heat of the tears building. The desire to break into an irrepressible fit of sobs cutting off her airway. She blinked furiously, and took another deep and controlled breath. She would not lose her composure. She would do this with dignity. With grace...

"You were my anchor, my confidant — and I _did_ love you, I _adored_ you…I hope you truly knew that." She trembled, still trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill down her icy cheeks. She pinched the bridge of her nose tightly between her fingers trying to will the tears away.

"I wish I could have been _yours_, undeniably _yours_, the way you wanted." Her eyebrows knit together as she clenched her bottom lip tightly between her teeth, the corners of her mouth sinking into a deep, guilt-ridden, frown. "You were so good to me, and I know that you truly loved me — perhaps more than I will ever know. It was a beautiful deception you cast for me — one that I would gladly return to, if only you could return to me." She gasped, stifling a painful sob.

She pressed the palm of her left hand to the cold stone and gazed at him through the crystal. He was so beautiful and still. Dressed in his finest armor. It suited him.

"_You look like King Arthur sleeping in Avalon,"_ she thought to herself, smiling weakly.

She leaned in and rested her forehead gently next to her hand against the cool stone. Sighing, she began to gently rub her thumb over the band of her wedding ring, twirling it around her finger.

"I hope that you, in some way, understood that I never meant to hurt you. But my heart, it betrayed me — betrayed me as you knew it would." She glared at him accusingly — a hint of defiance in her eyes — but the fire of her stare was quickly extinguished by an extraordinary wave of empathy.

She lowered her face and closed her eyes, inhaling slowly through her nose as she shook her head slowly, acknowledging the truth of her betrayal.

"I _tried_." She whimpered. "I tried to deny it..." the guilt thick in her words, the sound of her voice barely a whisper against the stone. "I know that it wasn't enough. Not after what we'd been through. The battles, the years, the _lifetimes_." She balled up her fists and pressed them to her mouth repressing another sob of remorse.

She sighed heavily and sank to the floor, resting her back against the stone-hard surface of his crystal sarcophagus. There was too much to take in — too much to comprehend. Her once tightly bound world had been unraveled, the fairy-tale life that she had become increasingly numb to, now shattered — its pages strewn about the worried faces of everyone she saw. It had seemed that no matter how much time she took trying to make sense of it, no matter how many hours she spent trying to reason with her emotions, she still couldn't seem to grasp the reality of it anymore. The seething conflict in her heart ravaged her mind as she remembered the last time they had spoken, alone in their bedchamber, when he only had fleeting moments left. Using what little vestiges of strength he had left, he had desperately tried to make her understand something — something he was ashamed of, something he now felt it undeniably consequential for her to know, regardless — his confession.

"Usako, there are things that I must put right…before it is too late," he had whispered. His voice was weak and uneven, his fading blue eyes full of a desperate urgency that had made her gravely uneasy.

"For the sorrow I have caused you, for the sacrifices I have caused you to make, the anguish I have silently and selfishly inflicted...I am deeply and irrevocably sorry." He spoke with ardent sincerity. He wanted her to believe him — he needed her forgiveness.

She stared at him blankly, the meaning of his words eluding her.

"I have no idea what you're talking about my love." She replied bewildered, stroking the side of his face tenderly with the feathery touch of her hand. He didn't have the strength to argue nonsense, and she would not have him fill their last moments together with regrets over trivial matters that held no lasting merit.

"You have never caused me sorrow or anguish, and you have never once asked me to sacrifice anything, not in two lifetimes." She assured him.

"But Usako," his raspy voice was barely a whisper now, "they were not my lifetimes to share." He struggled to sit up, wincing with the unexpected effort, so that he could look her full in the eyes as she sat next to him. He soon realized, however — as he met the power of her confused stare — that he could not look into those innocent and all-forgiving eyes while he admitted to his treachery. He lowered his gaze and stared at the pink diamond wedding ring sparkling on her left hand.

"My Queen, I have wronged you in the most malicious ways imaginable. You have to listen to me..." he took a deep breath and reached for her hand. Intertwining their fingers together as he lifted her hand to his face. He gently kissed her ring.

"Don't misunderstand, my love, if I were given the same opportunities and the same circumstances, I would still do nothing different," he started, "but I realize that everything I have done was for my own selfish reasons, and it has had very little to do with the true desires of your heart." He looked up at her from beneath his furrowed brow, hoping to see some tiny inclination that this sudden admission of guilt had registered with her. Hoping that somehow, through his jumbled words, she could hear the truth and would understand.

"I loved you then Usako — no, _Serenity —_ as I love you now, and the very idea of you belonging to another..." he paused and drew a ragged breath, "I was unable to bear it. I couldn't stand for it — I wouldn't." He straightened himself, squaring his shoulders. He looked to her as if he was preparing for a firing squad, accepting of his fate, repentant.

He took another labored breath and looked longingly at her. When he began again, his voice was stern, but warm, and full of an intangible ache. "Understand, my love - I've only ever wanted the absolute best for you. I wanted to give you the world then, and now — regardless of whether you would ever want the world...from me. I knew, back then, in the Silver Millennium," he lowered his face, returning his eyes and attention to the ring on her left hand, "I knew before I began my pursuit that you should belong to another — that, if I allowed it, you would belong to another. I couldn't accept it. I refused. Forgive me, dearest Serenity, but I was utterly yours from the first moment I laid eyes on you, and incapable of letting you go." He looked up at her, his ancient blue eyes brimming with heartbroken tears.

She stared at him absently, blinking back her confusion — unable to comprehend the magnitude of what he was trying to tell her. Somewhere buried deep within her, the heart she had long thought frozen skipped a beat and landed in her stomach.

"Endym— Mamo..." she whispered, her voice cracking a little around the edges, unsure of how to begin. She was still trying to make sense of the strange apologies and admissions that he was bombarding her with. The sudden abundance of unrest — and was it _relief?_ — in her heart, making her increasingly anxious.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she shook her head and closed her eyes, hoping to discourage a rebuttal, "but it doesn't matter now. If you are searching for forgiveness for something, then it is yours. But you have nothing to apologize for. Not now, not ever."

"No, Serenity. You're not listening to me!" He declared, exasperated, his already exhausted features now revealing the true mask of the struggles he had held inside. He met her stare straight on and looked deep into her eyes, searching their cerulean depths for a sign of understanding. These _eyes_! Eyes that had captivated him from the very first time he had felt the weight of their stare — blinked back with silent retaliation. Only the slightest hint of guilty acceptance in them.

"You are so noble...so loyal." He reached up and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. "Even though you know the truth of my words, you deny it. You deny my guilt as you have denied the true fire in your heart for so many centuries."

She dropped her chin to avoid the blazing intensity of his stare.

"Serenity, Usa... It's _all right_. You don't have to fight it anymore. If I had been a man truly worthy of your love, you would have never had to fight it in the first place." He lifted her chin with his free hand so that he could look once more into her beautiful eyes. His gaze was soft and disarming, communicating a compassionate plea that she could not fully comprehend. Her eyebrows knit together with reluctant frustration and heartache.

"I don't know what you're talking about..." she trailed off once again, gently pulling away from his touch.

He sighed and relaxed his stance, defeated. He knew he had earned this torture outright, that no matter how unbearable, he undeniably deserved it — but that was not going to make it any easier to admit his treachery, or to make her believe it.

"Usako..." he took another deep breath to strengthen his resolve, "_I am not your soul's true mate_ — no matter how much I wish that weren't true. I stole you away from your true destiny, and one true love, before you had the chance to deny me." He stated, matter-of-factly.

Serenity froze — trying unsuccessfully to deny the words she had just heard him say. She stared blankly at their hands resting on her lap, still intertwined. The sparking diamond now seemed to be taunting her. She took a shaky gasp and looked up at him, dazed.

"But _you_ are my love. _You_ are my destiny. You have _always_ been." She whispered, her voice distant.

"No, Serenity. _You_ have always been _mine_."

He sighed again. She could hear the pain in his words, could feel the twisted twinge of regret in his labored breath. This was no easier for him to say than it was for her to hear, and she leaned toward him reassuringly.

"There is _another_. Another, whose love for you was, and is still, deeper and more all consuming than I could ever comprehend. He loved you enough to leave you — in that lifetime _and_ in this one. _Twice_, he has been willing to let you go — at extraordinary cost to himself — solely because he thought _you_ were _happy._" He shook his head with awe. "I was never, could never be, _that_ _strong_." He traced the outline of her jaw with the tip of his finger as he slowly lay back down against the pillows.

Serenity gawked at him. "But I don't —"

He stopped her.

"Usako, the memories of my treachery have been with me since my rebirth after your battle with Chaos. I have denied them for 2 centuries. It takes the absolution of death to make me admit to them now — please do not deny me my penance. Not now. Not when eternity beckons! I need your forgiveness. _Please_ Serenity!"

"But…" She started, befuddled. He held up a trembling hand to silence her.

"No, Serenity. _Please listen_ _to me_," he took a deep and labored breath, trying to summon the strength to paint the painful memory of a time long since past — and the single decision that had altered the course of time and the fate of the universe.

"Serenity, do you remember the locket?"

—

"Mother?" A soft voice beckoned sweetly.

"Mother? Are you well? Are you okay?" The voice continued, its concerned questions pulling her from the confines of her dream.

"Mother..."

Serenity opened her bleary eyes to the frantic face of her daughter whose red-brown eyes were examining her thoroughly. She cleared her throat and sat up straight, her neck stiff from sleeping in such an awkward, crumpled position.

"Oh!" She yawned, her eyelashes fluttering as she tried to focus her exhausted vision. "I'm sorry dearest, I must have fallen asleep. I apologize. How long have I been here?"

The pinked-haired princess let out a relieved sigh and stroked her mother's face lightly, "Not long, maybe an hour or two. I was worried about you, you've isolated yourself so much in the past weeks — I was afraid you might have fallen ill."

"You worry too much my dear. As you can see, I am fine. A bit of a mess," she ran her hand quickly over her hair, smoothing the fly-a-ways from her disheveled buns, "but fine, nonetheless." Serenity took her daughter's hand and rose carefully to her feet. She smoothed out the wrinkles in her long ivory gown, and rubbed her puffy eyes gently with the backs of her hands.

"Tell Mars that I will address the people shortly, but first, I really must attend to myself. I can't let them see me like this. The people are skeptical of my present condition as it is, I shouldn't give them more reason to be concerned." She turned to look at her daughter who was staring painfully at the crystal-encased body of her father.

The princess took a shallow breath and nodded, turning to look to her mother.

In her eyes, the queen could see that she held no secrets from her daughter — that, regardless of how bizarre her recent actions might have seemed, no explanations were needed. Perhaps the truths that Serenity felt too ashamed to reveal herself had already been exchanged between the princess and her father, she did not want to ask. But somehow, Serenity knew that her daughter understood, and supported her completely — without hesitation.

"I will tell them that you are preparing. Take your time. Things will move at your speed now mother, or not at all. Do not let anyone push you into decisions you are not ready to make, not anymore." The princess leaned in and kissed her mother gently on the cheek. "I will deal with them. Go! Make your peace." She turned and walked briskly to the open doorway into the palace, glancing back briefly over her shoulder as she paused in the archway. She watched heavy-hearted as her mother bent to place one last lingering kiss on the crystal tomb.

"Goodnight, sweet prince. Goodbye, my king." She could hear the soft whispers of her mother's final farewell to her father. She watched quietly as the queen gathered herself and slipped her wedding ring off her left ring finger, and placed it on her right.

Serenity turned and made her way to the doorway. Fresh tears sparkling in her eyes — she refused to let them fall.

"Thank you my love. Tell them I will be down within the hour." Serenity embraced her daughter, kissing her hair.

"Thank you mother — for everything..." the princess hugged her back and broke away, walking swiftly down the long marble hall toward the massive marble doors of the grand entrance.

Serenity watched solemnly as the guards slowly opened the heavy doors. Bright white light burst through the tiny opening and spilled into the darkness of the hall, engulfing it.

She squinted against the assault. This light was too bright, its blistering heat too intense for the small space. Her heart fell.

This was not the light of the sun, or the moon. She knew this light. She had seen it countless times — in her dreams, in her _nightmares_. She could never forget it.

"No!" She gasped inaudibly, and braced herself for the inferno.


	5. Chapter 5: The Locket, Parts 1 & 2 of 4

** _The saga continues…the first chunk of my massive chapter. I have made a view revisions, hopefully to give you a better sense of time and place within the story. The changes are minimal, but I felt they were necessary. _

_Much love to all who have reviewed thus far! Knowing that you are reading…that you are excited to see where this goes….that means everything._

_~Enjoy! 3 Starfighter626_

_Chapter Five_

**The Locket**

_Remember now. Remember who you are. Remember who you were. Remember…_

—

"Time is a vastly different entity when you have endless amounts of it…" the raven-haired woman spoke, her words finally breaking the long-standing silence.

None of them had said a word as they blazed their course through the wonders of the universe. It wasn't forbidden for them to leave the Cauldron — they actually left quite often when new stars were born and when the ancient ones were about to fade, as was their duty — but they seldom ever left the Cauldron completely unguarded, or took the liberty to travel such distances or with such exhilaration as this. The sensation of separation — the feeling of being so very far away from their home — was odd, worrisome, reckless even, he thought to himself.

"and that is why we must _all_ go…to reaffirm our commitment to the great treaty." The beautiful woman looked over her shoulder, her deep violet eyes meeting the skeptical gaze of the young man who traveled so closely by her side.

"And how long ago was that, exactly? That this great treaty was forged, I mean…" his fiery blue eyes searched the planes of her perfect porcelain face for a more acceptable explanation for their reckless abandon.

"Eons." She answered lowly, smiling reassuringly. "It was long before you or the others were born, my son." Her smile faded into a thin line as her memories began to paint a veil of sorrow across her ivory face. Guilt pained him as he began to realize that there was much more to this journey than his was aware of.

"It was a different time then," she continued, "a time of gods and monsters. Nothing like the peaceful utopia that we live in now. The universe was once a bloody battlefield. A mass grave for those who would stand and fight for justice and peace. It wasn't safe for anyone back then, not even for us." She turned her face away and stared ahead into the streams of light that cascaded past them.

"What changed?" He questioned, a dark eyebrow raised on his puzzled face.

The beautiful woman slowed her blinding pace until she finally paused, causing her long black hair to float around her in soft billows of curls that cast her face into shadow.

"The Sailor Wars." She spoke in a low velvet voice. A voice that insinuated the ominous truths that she was about to reveal within the coming story.

"Long ago, longer than even the first stars can remember," she began, "Chaos existed within the universe."

Suddenly, four very interested faces now had her full attention. Chaos was not a name to be mentioned lightly, for the proof of its tyranny was still scattered throughout the universe.

"During the first reign of the Sailor Sovereigns, or the old Gods as some humans have come to know them — Hermes, Aphrodite, Aries, Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, Ouranos, Chronos, and Selene — a great era of peace existed throughout all the cosmos. The Sovereigns oversaw all that flourished and all that passed away throughout the universe. They used their powers and wisdom to guide life to a prosperous beginning, and they nurtured it as it grew. One being eluded their reign, however, and despised them for their generosity and wisdom. That being was known as Chaos. Chaos is the very incarnation of all that is evil and wicked within ourselves, and our universe. It watched and waited as the people who lived in this golden age gained knowledge and strength…and eventually, greed. Chaos prayed upon the doubt, fear, and jealousy that began to grow amongst the people toward the Gods that controlled their fates. It planted the seeds of destruction…and watched as they blossomed."

He swallowed the lump in his throat as he listened to the history of the universe unfold. His eyes never leaving his mother's cool face. Her eyes animated with memory.

"That was when the Sailor Soldiers were awakened." She looked at each of them and smiled…their faces were almost white with anticipation. "Every planet in existence has a Sailor Soldier. A guardian that exist solely to protect that individual planet, much like we each have a very distinctive role in the life of each and every star in the universe."

She paused again to meet his stare, his deep blue eyes eager for her to continue. She smiled weakly.

"Except for you my dearest." She reached out and placed her hand gently on his cheek, "you who's purpose has yet to be revealed." She smiled and sighed as she lowered her hand back to her side and continued with her tale.

"The Sailor Soldiers and the Sailor Sovereigns fought Chaos for ages trying to save the universe from utter destruction — but though they fought valiantly, in the end, most of the Sailor Soldiers and the old Gods perished in the endeavor to overthrow Chaos."

She stopped and took a deep breath as she looked out slowly into the endless depths of the cosmos.

"All seemed lost as the war slowly engulfed all of known space…" she whispered.

_These memories must be so painful. So much loss. Such grief. That's why she's never mentioned them before_, he thought to himself.

She cleared her throat lightly and continued, "Only two of the old Gods still survived — Chronos, the god of time, and Selene, the goddess of light. Many feared that devastation was inevitable, myself included." She bowed her head for a moment, then turned to look toward the sparkling vortex of the nearest galaxy and smiled. "But it was then, just as we were about to give up, that hope arose. It came in the form of a young Sailor Soldier from the planet called "Earth". She was just a young girl, long red and golden hair that flowed down her back and golden eyes that shone with earnest hope and determination, but within her…" she paused, "in her lay the key to saving us all. The young Soldier made a pact with the goddess Selene that she would defeat Chaos and once again bring peace to the universe — and all that she asked in return was that Selene take her place as the Guardian of Earth, if she did not survive."

He gasped reflexively. They all did. He watched as his mother gazed lovingly at the galaxy that hovered only breaths away from them now. If they wanted, they could be on the other side of it in the mere blink of an eye. It was a small galaxy in comparison to most - he wasn't sure why it suddenly seemed so special.

"That young girl was the strongest Sailor Soldier that ever lived," his mother said softly turning to face them once again. She took in a slow breath through her nose as she closed her eyes, the sparkle of unshed tears shimmering on her eyelashes.

"She defeated Chaos just as she promised, and saved us all with her selfless sacrifice… Now we go to honor that sacrifice, as we do once every thousand Earth years."

She opened her eyes and smiled at her captive audience. "The great treaty was forged by the goddess Selene and the god Chronos, along with all of the surviving Sailor Soldiers and Celestial Keepers throughout the cosmos. It states that no entity, great or small, should ever seek absolute power again — and that throughout the galaxy, we would keep a steadfast eye for the return of Chaos, and would ally ourselves should the threat ever reemerge."

He looked at his companions, they all seemed just as enthralled by her story as he was — though the silver-haired boy with the emerald green eyes seemed somewhat unimpressed.

"That is why it is so very important for us to uphold our end of the treaty. As the keepers of the Cauldron of the Stars, and the caretakers of every star in existence, we are eternal — and do not die. Being such, we should notice a change in the mood of the universe long before anyone else would. Save for Queen Serenity herself."

"Queen Serenity?" He asked.

"Ah, well yes… After the war was over, the goddess Selene honored the promise she had made to Sailor Earth, and graciously took up the mantel of guardian of the planet Earth. She decided to change her name to "Serenity" in homage to the sacrifice made by that noble Soldier. But Serenity is a Goddess, and not human as the people of Earth are. Not wanting to interfere in their lives, and realizing that, as an immortal being, she could never truly live amongst them — she decided to station herself on the small satellite that orbited the planet. That way she could oversee the welfare of the planet, without directly interfering in the lives of its inhabitants. The satellite where she has built her kingdom is now called the "Moon", and it is the heart and epicenter of this grand age we live in now, the Silver Millennium — and Serenity is its fair and noble ruler."

"Wow." They all whispered in unison.

"And why have you waited until now to tell us this?" The silver-haired boy questioned, his tone disapproving. It was obvious from the aggravated look on his face that he felt she had done them all a great disservice by keeping this knowledge from them.

Not that he disagreed.

He watched as the tall woman smiled an amused smile at her questioner, though she never acknowledged his frustrated glare.

"There is a time and a purpose for everything, _and everyone_, Healer." She explained to his companion. "I felt that now was the time for you to learn of the past. Maybe next time will be a time to learn of the present, or even the future."

Her smile faded as she turned from the silver-haired boy and faced her son once again. Her soft violet eyes searched his face. For what, he did not know. The weight of her lingering stare made him uneasy.

"My Starlight…" she whispered to him.

"Yes Mother?" He wasn't sure why, but he thought he could hear an edge of sorrow in her voice.

"There is a time and a purpose for everything, _and everyone_…" she smiled.

"Yes…I know." He reassured her meekly.

"Ah! Patience my son! All things reveal themselves in due time!" The broad man who had chosen to remain quiet for most of their journey now boomed as he put a sturdy hand on the young man's back. He had a wide face that was mostly concealed by a thick chestnut colored beard that hung down to his waist, and lively blue eyes that smiled. "You never know when you are going to find your purpose. The most important thing is to be ready to embrace it when it finds you…" he exchanged a quick glance with the beautiful woman who stood in front of them. "What do you think my love?" he said, suddenly at her side, cupping her tiny hand inside his massive fist.

She smiled lovingly at her husband, and nodded, returning her gaze to her son. Something in her eyes made him wary. There was a hint of fear in them, or perhaps…dread. He could feel his heart become heavy as it sank in his chest.

"I agree my love, I agree," she said, once again looking to the broad man with the wild beard at her side.

"Yeah, well I hope we're getting close to our destination. I'm getting bored." The boy with the silver-hair suddenly complained.

"I too grow weary of this journey. I hope there are descent accommodations." The tall chestnut-haired boy, who was easily a foot taller than all of them, chimed in.

He ran his fingers through his jet black hair and re-tied his pony-tail.

It seemed the history lesson was over.

"Yeah, I have to say, I'm looking forward to a nice rest myself," he added with a yawn. His companions were always reliable when it came time to change the subject. Their ability to be nonchalant in any situation was something he both admired and abhorred.

"Well I'm glad to hear it," the raven haired woman half-laughed as she turned to admire the sparkling galaxy before them, "because we're here. Welcome dear ones…welcome to the Milky Way — home of the Silver Millennium."

—

They had only just entered the outermost edge of the small galaxy when they were intercepted.

"DECLARE YOURSELVES OR YOU WILL DIE WHERE YOU STAND!" The handsome young woman with short wispy blonde hair thundered. She held the hilt of a bejeweled sword tightly in her grip as she stared daggers at them from her crouching position. She was poised to strike, ready for a fight, and eager for any excuse.

Were they trespassing? He wasn't sure. The fierce soldier held her stance as she glared at all of them accusingly.

He raised an eyebrow at her in amazement and, noticing the change in his expression, she advanced to confront him

"URANUS!"

The blonde soldier froze. Her steely blue eyes locked with his for an uncomfortable moment as they narrowed to piercing slits. Her mouth was a thin emotionless line as she inhaled sharply through her nose. Her posture shifted rigidly as she began to back away slowly. Her eyes never left his, her cold stare attempting to unnerve him.

He risked a glance away from the fearsome creature as the cries of another quickly approached.

It was a breathtakingly lithe woman with long hair the color of a brilliant emerald and pale skin much like his mothers.

"NO! URANUS! STOP! These are our guests!" She wailed as she nearly crashed headlong into the tall blonde who was now staring at the green-haired woman with an amused smirk.

"I know who they are Michiru…" The blonde whispered lowly to her companion as her steely blue eyes once again met his bewildered stare.

Her once fearsome glare was now…amused? The tell-tale grin she wore oddly mischievous.

He was intrigued.

"Pardon my lack of introductions…you must be the Starlights," she stated flatly as she turned to look them over carefully — not disrespectfully, but cautiously and thoroughly. He noticed that she still held the hilt of her sword tightly in her grip, as if to draw it at the slightest hint of a threat.

"Her Majesty Queen Serenity eagerly awaits your arrival. I am to be your escort to the Moon Palace. My name is Haruka. I am the guardian soldier of the planet of wind and sky known as Uranus, and this," she gestured to the breathtaking woman with the long emerald hair at her side, "this is Michiru, guardian soldier of the planet of the seas, Neptune." They both bowed respectfully, but the tall blonde never broke eye contact.

"Ah, yes, _Uranus_." His mother spoke up, a rather exasperated look on her beautiful face, "Your reputation precedes you young soldier. I have heard great things of your valor and skill. We thank you for your hospitality and are honored to once again be in the heart of this noble age, the Silver Millennium. I am Lady StarSavior," she bowed to their escort, "and this is my husband, Lord StarDestroyer," she gestured toward the broad man with the wild beard and wide smile, "and these are the two youngest children of the cauldron, StarHealer and StarMaker," she put a hand on the shoulder of the short silver-haired figure and the lanky brunette respectively.

He watched as the two female soldiers bowed their heads in respect to each introduction. He was a little taken aback when the fearsome blonde erected herself and turned to face him, her eyes full of blistering intensity.

"And you…you must be _the one_! The one pure star. You are Prince of the StarLights!" She stared at him for a long minute then took a stride toward him, her shoulders squared. She outstretched her hand to grasp his and gave it a sturdy shake.

"Yes, this is our Prince." StarSavior went to his side and put her arm lightly around his shoulders. "The only child to be born from actual stars, and not a child of the Cauldron itself." She looked at him lovingly, her violet eyes sparklingly with adoration. She smiled when she noticed that Uranus did the same.

"Forgive me. I was out of line during your arrival," Uranus stuttered, a wide devilish grin spreading across her face as she continued to stare at him. "I've never met one of your kind...I was curious. Legend says that you are among the most powerful beings in the universe, and are the most powerful and skilled fighters at that. I was, and must admit I still am, interested to see how I would fair if we were to do battle." She blushed from embarrassment and bit her lip.

"Ah...Well for all our sakes, let us hope that you should never have to find out young one." Lord StarDestroyer spoke softly in his deep timbered voice as he placed a massive hand on the blonde woman's shoulder.

"Yes, you are right…of course." She smiled at him once more, then turned to face the rest of their group.

"_What an odd woman."_ He thought to himself. He had to admit…her spirit was admirable. He had never met someone with an aura as prominent as hers. It was as if he could taste her excitement in the atmosphere. She was an explosive force contained…he rather _liked_ her.

"Ah, well…now," the fair woman with the emerald hair spoke up, her voice was like a melody — soothing and calm, but still authoritative, "Should we make our way to the Palace then? Uranus, I believe you have some business to attend to on Earth this evening, do you not?"

"Oh! Michiru! You're right! Endymion will kill me if I'm not there to help him get ready for tonight's festivities!" She turned quickly to address them, "I hope you will forgive me Lady StarSavior, Lord StarDestroyer, but we really should make haste, tonight is a very important night for the Moon and Earth Kingdoms, we should get you to the Moon Palace as soon as possible…" The blonde woman spoke so quickly that it was hard to keep up with her. She was suddenly a ball of nervous energy and anxious for them to be on their way.

"You must forgive my companion Your Grace," Neptune whispered to Lady StarSavior, "she is very close with the Prince of the Earth Kingdom, Prince Endymion, and tonight is a very big night for him, as well as the Silver Millennium."

"Really? How so?" StarSavior asked as she inclined her gaze slightly toward the bright star in the center of the solar system. Her features seemed slightly troubled, but he couldn't sense why. He looked to the tiny star, but could sense nothing abnormal in its lifeforce.

"Tonight Queen Serenity will announce the engagement of her only daughter and heir, Princess Serenity, to Prince Endymion of the Earth Kingdom!" Uranus all but sang. "It will be the first time that anyone from the Earth Kingdom has been on an equal footing with the people of the moon. This blessed union…it will finally bridge the gap that lies between our peoples. It will unite our solar system, in _love_." Uranus continued, babbling so quickly that her words ran together.

"So the Earth, it has yet to produce a female guardian heir?" StarSavior whispered, more to herself than to her companions.

"No Your Grace. The Earth still has not produced another female guardian. We can't be certain if it ever will," Neptune began. "It is a very rare occasion when a planet loses its guardian. It usually means that the planet is also lost…as you would very well know." Neptune and Uranus both looked at StarSavior, their eyes full of an unspoken pity for the Queen of the Starlights. "And yet, the Earth remains. Elysion still thrives, and the royal family still tends to the planet as if they were its true guardians. It is a compromise, but it is a good compromise that has held for the past 10,000 years."

_10,000 years! _He thought to himself, shocked. He had no idea that his mother had been making this pilgrimage for that many millennia. Time was such an odd thing to measure…he wasn't sure if 10,000 years would seem like an epic span of time to her, or if it would seem like only a mere splintering of uncomfortable minutes had pasted. He had never considered these notions before, they seemed beyond him.

Neptune moved slightly closer to Uranus' side as she began again, their fingers brushing up against one another, almost intertwining. "When Princess Serenity snuck away to Earth and, against all odds, found love with the Crown Prince… Queen Serenity decided that maybe keeping them apart wasn't the best answer — that perhaps their love might be able to revive the dormant planet, and that, possibly, a union between the Earth and Moon could provide the Earth with a guardian worthy of such a mantle."

"This is an interesting development." StarSavior said as she once again looked toward the bright light of the star in the center of the solar system, a flicker of something more than worry in her violet eyes. "I had hoped that enough time would have passed, and that the Earth would have healed itself by now…it is a shame to see that it has not. I am also very intrigued by the Queen's decision to allow the Princess to marry a child of Earth…though without proper insight, I see I am at the disadvantage."

"Do not worry Lady StarSavior," Neptune replied encouragingly, "the Queen is most eager to discuss all these matters with you! She has, in fact, made it quite evident that your council is the one that she most desperately seeks."

"Well, then it would be unadvisable to keep her majesty waiting, wouldn't it." StarSavior stated to Neptune as she turned to her address group. "Let us be on our way."

They all nodded in agreement as they joined hands and began the last leg of their journey to the moon kingdom.

—

_Parts 3 and 4 coming soon! _

~ Starfighter626, October 6, 2010


	6. Chapter 5: The Locket, Part 3 Teaser!

_Authors Note: Hi everyone! I'm not dead! I'm posting this "teaser" to Part 3 of the Locket as a sample of what is to come next week. I hope to have Part 3 finished and up next week, but I thought you would enjoy an excerpt…for the time being._

_Enjoy!_

_~ Starfighter626_

_**Part 3 Teaser!**_

The statuesque woman with long flowing hair the color of the deepest forest and the forlorn ruby stare pushed herself away from the safety of her staircase railing and slowly began to make her way toward him through the congestion of the crowd.

He watched her, mesmerized, as she approached, unable to take his eyes away from hers. As she walked, it felt as though time had slowed to match her steps. She was _regal_, he thought to himself. She carried herself with the effortless grace of a queen, and yet there was something more about her. Something he couldn't quite put a description to. When their eyes had met from across the room, he had felt the weight of a thousand lifetimes within her timeless stare. There was something mysterious and otherworldly about this beautiful girl. There was an aura of burden that surrounded her like a mist. From across the room, he could almost touch the intangible ache — could sense with every heartbeat an immense and endless sorrow, the sadness of a thousand lifetimes over — emanating from this breathtaking creature. It was unnerving to him that though she appeared to be so young, with a porcelain face of perfect youth and hair that flowed like a dark shimmering liquid down her back, that her presence felt so strangely ancient and familiar.

He watched her with a nervous awe as she drew closer, paralyzed to his spot on the dance floor, forgetting to breathe.

The beautiful girl stopped a full stride in front of him. Her ruby gaze now a deep garnet as the shadows fell across her face. He stared back at her, speechless. Being this close to her was almost too much. It was like standing in the presence of a God. In the reflection of her eyes he felt ever so small and insignificant, and yet, he could not will his eyes or his feet to move.

"Good evening Prince of Starlight," she spoke with a low velvet voice.

He stared back wordlessly. Blinking the only response he could manage.

"I hope you're enjoying the ball. I, myself, detest these frivolities…but, that is for my own unreasonable purposes. Everyone else looks so forward to these galas of pomp and circumstance…" she trailed off, the faraway look in her eyes led him to believe that her displeasure of the evening was somewhat symbolic of her nature. He could tell, if only intuitively, that the serene look on her face was a perfect mask of contentment for the sake of duty, and that she proudly wore it to hide some sort of inner turmoil.

She turned her face back to his, shaking herself free from her faraway thoughts, and gave him a tender smile.

"This night will be of monumental significance for you dear prince…as the years to follow shall be monumental for us all." She stated to him matter-of-factly. "Would you walk with me for a while?" She asked lowly as she extended a white-gloved hand to him, and he took it without thinking.

They glided through the suffocating crowd with incredible ease. It was odd how her steps seemed to move in sync with the rhythm of the music, as well as the beating of his heart. Everything seemed to move around her in time, as if every movement she made was of a part of some expertly choreographed dance routine with him as her dance partner, if only for the moment.

Once outside it seemed that time, as well as the beat of his heart, began to resume its natural rhythm. His head began to clear and his thoughts became increasing more coherent as he leaned against the cool marble of the terrace rail.

Looking out across the elaborately manicured courtyard, he couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of the Earth from this part of the palace. He watched heavy-hearted as the planet sank lazily into the horizon, its blues and greens mingled with the white wisps of clouds.

"It has known much sorrow," she spoke in a near whisper as she too looked longingly at the sinking planet.

"My mother told me about the Sailor Wars, and the story of Sailor Earth and her sacrifice." He whispered as he turned his eyes away from the planet and back to her. He hadn't noticed how tall she was until now. She was easily four inches taller than himself. _I bet she's as tall as StarMaker,_ he thought absently.

They stood there in relative silence for a few moments. He studied her as she stared with her faraway stance toward the Earth as it finally sank from view.

"I'm sorry…but do I know you?" He finally asked, breaking the silence. It was more of a question to himself rather than to her.

"Not yet." She said as she raised up from the banister.

"But you…you know me?" He pointed an uneasy finger toward her then back to himself.

"I know _all_." She whispered lowly as she turned her back to him and started to walk toward the stairway to the courtyard.

He was puzzled. What did that mean? This girl was confounding — a living labyrinth of mazes and riddles — and yet…he felt there was more truth in her riddles than there was in the fabric of his reality.

He followed her down the curling staircase and into the soft grass of the courtyard below. She stood with her back to him next to an enormous marble column that surrounded a simple reflecting pool, her fingertips gently caressing the ivory stone.

"Forgive me, but…how do you know me?" He whispered politely as he stopped several feet away from her.

"My dear Prince…yours is one of the most painful and tragic stories I know." She began quietly as she turned to face him. An undeniably sympathetic and loving look in her ancient eyes. She walked closer to him and took his hand in her own.

"I know that you cannot begin to comprehend the weight of the burdens you will carry, but it is for you dearest Starlight that my heart aches the most."

Reaching up to cradle the side of his face in her hand, she looked him full in the eyes, her gaze full of a compassionate understanding. She let her hand fall slowly as she backed cautiously away from him. A look of worried sadness overtaking her features as she looked toward the palace, then back to him.

Her words struck him numbly as he tried to decipher their cryptic meaning. He looked at her, a wildly puzzled expression on his young face. She sighed to herself, and lifted her hand as if to silence his unspoken questions.

"I have said all that I can say, and of your path dear Prince, I can say no more. These days will weave a tapestry that even I dare not upset."

"But…," she whispered as she looked away, her gaze resting on a place so far away he knew he could not begin to imagine it. Her voice was so low that it demanded his full attention, her words so important he felt that the very thread of his life rested against them. "I can give you hope to hold on to as you travel through the abyss. In spite of these grim shadows I have foretold… Patience and selflessness are difficult virtues to master young Prince, but be vigilant. For one day, I promise you, for a time — no matter how short — we shall both have that which our hearts so desperately desire."

Her simple words echoed in his head as it began to spin. His heart fell as his chest began to ache and he struggled to maintain control of his lungs, which were suddenly screaming for air. The meaning of her cryptic words was beyond his immediate comprehension, and yet, he knew he could not question their validity or the ominous future which they foretold. It was like hearing your life story from another's lips, unsure if you were a player in the game, or just another piece being played. The feeling was unsettling and overwhelming, and he struggled against the feeling to run from her and her foreboding prophecies.

She seemed to sympathize with his sudden discomfort and placed a steady hand on his trembling shoulder.

"Be brave. Do not let my words sway you young prince. We all have a part to play in the days to come. Follow your heart, and it will not lead you astray." She smiled a small but understanding smile at him, then turned to walk back toward the palace.

He was dumbfounded. With no more than a few moments of conversation this woman had shattered his waking reality, and now she was simply walking away as if nothing more than simple courtesies had passed between them. He was stricken with a pang of disbelief as he ran to catch up to her.

"So that's it! I'm sorry Prince Starlight, your life is going to suck and it's really too bad but for a little while it won't suck so it's okay?" He blurted out in one angry breath.

She slowed her pace and looked at him once more, an amused smirk on her face. "Yeah, it's sort-of like that." She said nonchalantly with a raised eyebrow and a smile.

"Well who are you to be spouting such nonsense? Why should I take any of the things you say with more than a grain of salt?" He said in a huff as he stopped and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Well…" she stopped atop the stairs and turned to answer him, "in truth, my name is Setsuna. I am the last daughter of Chronos — God of Time, but most of the court of the Silver Millennium address me as 'Sailor Pluto' Guardian of the Gates of Time and Mistress of Time itself." She smiled at him and watched as this information sank in.

He almost fell over. His half-conscious assumptions had been spot on. He _had _been in the presence of a God. What was more unsettling was that when she had said "she knew all" he could assume that she had meant that quite literally. He suddenly felt very foolish and ashamed of the tone he had taken with her. Stories of the Time Guardian were as old as time itself, and he had heard his mother speak of her on multiple occasions. It was an honor to have an audience with an individual such as this and something most would never imagine to aspire to — and he had scoffed at her. He felt like a fool, a naïve and now somewhat apprehensive fool. If her words had caused him concern before, now, knowing the full magnitude of such a warning…they weighed upon his mind like a death-sentence. He swallowed hard. _She wouldn't have warned me of such a dismal future if she had not thought it best_, he thought, _she would know the outcome._ He looked at her now with fresh eyes. She _was _regal, he realized. He also realized that, whether he understood it or not, he was about to take the first steps toward a fate he could not control.

He walked up the steps and stood in front of her.

Looking up into her ruby eyes he smiled, "Thank you, I think."

"We should be getting back." She addressed him as she held open the door to the grand ballroom and gestured for him to go in ahead of her.

As they walked in the lively symphony that had been playing stopped abruptly and the crowd all turned their gaze toward the top of the grand staircase in the middle of the room.

"What's going on?" He turned to ask his companion, but she was gone.

"Where did she go?" He asked aloud, but mostly to himself. She had vanished like a ghost, her sudden absence was more unnerving than her ominous presence had been.

"Hey! Where the hell have you been?" The silver-haired StarHealer scolded as he grabbed him under the elbow and pulled him aside.

"I've just had the strangest experience…" he started, fully intent on divulging the entire previous set of events to his comrade when the trumpets sounded.

"What's going on?" He asked StarHealer who was fully focused on the events atop the staircase.

"Sssh…" the silver-haired boy cut him off and pointed to the top of the staircase, "their getting ready to present Princess Serenity, heir of the Silver Millennium."

"Oh! That's right. This party is in her honor…right, sorry." He said off-handedly to his friend, rolling his eyes and running his fingers through his slick black hair. "What's so special about her anyways? Isn't this all a bit much for a sixteen-year-old?"

The music started again slowly, a somber and delicate waltz. He was just about to begin relaying his conversation with the Time Guardian to his friend when the crowd let out a collective gasp, indicating that the Princess had taken her place at the top of the stairs.

Out of reflex alone, he too turned to see the jewel of the evening displayed for all to see beside of her mother, Queen Serenity, atop the elaborate staircase.

Time stopped for the young Prince of Starlights in that very instant. Never before and never again would a single presence hold him like hers did in that moment. Everything in the universe was nothing next to her. Gravity no longer held him to the ground — it was her, and her alone, from now on. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't move. All he could do was stare as everything in the universe lost its meaning next to her. He tried to speak, tried to form words that would indicated his immediate dedication to this singular soul…but the only word that would leave his lips was, "Serenity."

_Parts 3 and 4 coming soon! _

~ Starfighter626, October 6, 2010


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